National publisher high on Hogs, but would like one big change

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Over the decades, starting with the big magazine rack near the front of the store in Wal-Mart back in the 1990s, college football magazines of all types have come and gone.

Most fell by the wayside as the digital market took over, but "Phil Steele's College Football Preview" has maintained enough credibility to continue to withstand the test of time. This is why when Steele takes the time to personally address specific teams this time of year, people stop and listen.

In this case, Steele dropped by the "Chuck and Bo Show" Thursday morning to discuss what he sees in the Razorbacks and a lot of the SEC teams they will face this season. The overall theme was Arkansas needs someone else making out their schedules, and fans need to vigilantly pray a more Missouri-like schedule will finally roll around next year.

"Pittman did a good job last year getting them into a bowl," Steele said. "They're playing a killer schedule. Once again, I rated it the third toughest schedule in the entire country.

"... Pittman always pulls the upsets. Now you look at this year's schedule, they're going to be an underdog at Mississippi, home to Notre Dame, at Tennessee, home to Texas, A&M, possibly at LSU and at Texas. So, there's going to be plenty of games to Vegas over under five and a half. But I like the over on that. I think Pittman pulls an upset or two, and I like what he's doing with the program. I just wish, I wish they'd be playing Missouri schedule one of these years."

If Arkansas can ever get a more friendly schedule, there's a real possibility Pittman can build serious momentum with the Razorbacks.

"You take a look at a team, and I throw out Missouri as an example, Missouri plays the best schedule in the SEC," Steele said. "They avoid a ton of the big boys, play very few of them, and they've had double digit wins the last couple of years.

"I think when you take a look at the Arkansas-Missouri game last year, I mean, I thought Arkansas was going to win that thing in the fourth quarter as a snowy game, and then, you know, Missouri ends up winning a close one, but there wasn't much difference between the two schools last year. And yet, Missouri was 10-3 and Arkansas was 7-6."

The Missouri-Arkansas situation wasn't Steele's only evidence for how much better Pittman's record would be if he could somehow keep himself out of the Top 5 toughest schedules each year. He had to look no further than the newest SEC additions to find more evidence.

"Let's take a look at Texas and Oklahoma," Steele said. "You know, those two teams came in from the Big 12. Texas played one of the best schedules in the SEC. Oklahoma played one of the toughest schedules. And look at the record of the two teams. So schedule has a lot to do with it. I know the SEC hasn't released their schedule for 2026 yet, but I'm hoping that Arkansas gets a break next year."

A strong example of this is Arkansas choosing to go on the road to play an 11-win Memphis team that spent last season fighting for the Group of Five playoff bid. Normally, an SEC school facing off with an AAC school isn't much of a concern.

However, especially with the game being on the road at the Liberty Bowl, Steele says this is a toss-up at best.

"[Memphis is my] pick to win the American Conference this year," Steele said. "I know they lose their quarterback, but they got Brendan Lewis coming in at QB from Nevada. And Memphis has so much money, you know, through the NIL, that they could build a pretty good roster.

"... They're almost unbeatable at home under Silverfield. He is 28-6 at home, so they're a tougher team at home, but I like the fact it's early in the year. They've got a new quarterback ... Arkansas is going to travel well there. So, it's not like Memphis going to have a massive home edge. So I think when you look at the game, I rate it right now a toss up coming into the season, so that's a dangerous Memphis team."

While Ole Miss and Tennessee, both of whom are on the Hogs' schedule, will eat up a lot of internet space as people evaluate from the beginning whether either will be able to slip into the playoffs this season, Steele has a pair of other teams on the Razorbacks' docket which he says will find their way into that discussion as the season drags on.

"Yeah, I've got A&M my No. 2 surprise team this year," Steele said. "And you know, when I talked to Coach [Mike] Elko last year — and Elko pretty much tells it like it is — he told me about the offensive line last year. He said, 'Phil, we're middle of the pack in the SEC on the offensive line this year.' When I'm talking to him about why, he says, 'Bill, we are at the top of the level of the SEC, and we're a candidate for the Joe Moore award.' So I like that when the coach tells it to you like it is.

"[The Aggies have] Marcel Reed back at quarterback, they've got a veteran defense, [plus] Elko always gets the most out of his team, so I think that's going to be another game that I rate as a toss up. I think A&M is a slightly better team this year. They're No. 6 on my experience chart [and] they've got a lot of talent. Elko always gets the most, but Arkansas is at home, so that's that's going to be another one of those toss up games."

However, his other team doesn't appear to do a great job of translating improvement to wins. In fact, Arkansas fans might be surprised to see this team on Steele's list of playoff contenders because of how easily the Hogs handled them last season.

"Very few teams make my most improved list and don't go from a losing record to a bowl," Steele said. "Well, last year, I had Auburn on my most improved list, and they actually went from -45 yards per game in SEC play, [meaning] every SEC played game, they were outgained by 45 yards per game, [to] last year they were +62 yards per game.

"So yeah, they were vastly improved, but turnovers did them in. Well, if they can cut down on the turnovers, — and I talked about Jackson Arnold and how he struggled at Oklahoma with no offensive line and no receivers — he's got to work with at Auburn, my No. 12 rated offensive line, my No. 6 set of receivers, and they've got a pretty good defense, so I think talent-wise, they're up there.

Still, Auburn is Auburn, and the Razorbacks already proved so much against the Tigers last season with quarterback Taylen Green still in his first season of the Bobby Petrino offense. Because of this, Steele is giving the Hogs a chance.

"I like the fact Arkansas is at home," Steele said. "I like the fact that Arkansas beat Auburn last year, so I've got Auburn a slight favorite in that game, about a three and a half point favorite."

Even though Steele says the Razorbacks should be improved and are poised to pull a few major upsets, there's still that one pesky little thing getting in the way of a truly magical season.

"Absolutely, if you took Arkansas, played them against Missouri's schedule last year, the record would have been better," Steele said. "So, I mean, it's just the way it comes out sometimes, and schedule is a big thing in college football."

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